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James Ellsworth
Ellsworth made his first WWE appearance on the July 25, 2016 edition of Raw in a match where he was squashed by his much larger opponent, Braun Strowman (who at that point, had yet to be defeated, and frequently took on local athletes). Ellsworth was later supposed to team with AJ Styles on a September edition of SmackDown, but was attacked by The Miz as he walked down to the ring, so he never got to participate in the match; The Miz was his replacement. Ellsworth was at one point chosen by the WWE World Champion AJ Styles however as an opponent on SmackDown in a non-title match as Styles thought he would be easily beaten, and SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan then made Dean Ambrose the special guest referee. Ambrose deliberately favored the underdog due to his rivalry with Styles (using his phone, not officiating correctly, etc.) and in a shocker, Ellsworth scored the non-title victory after Ambrose attacked Styles with a Dirty Deeds. As a result, Ellsworth appeared on the post-show segment Talking Smack about the incident, and was granted a championship match on SmackDown, on October 18. Ambrose again served a role: this time as a time keeper. During the match, Ambrose was constantly distracting Styles, and Ellsworth even scored a near fall by delivering a superkick to Styles. Ellsworth won by disqualification when Styles ignored a 5-count warning, and due to winning the match in this fashion, he hereby did not win the title. Ellsworth continued to be involved in Styles' rivalry with Ambrose, as he felt that he owed Ambrose a favor due to his support and aiding him in his matches with Styles, offering Ambrose assistance, but this backfired on the October 25 episode of SmackDown Live, when Ellsworth (at ringside to cheer Ambrose on during his match with Styles) accidentally cost Ambrose the match after executing No Chin Music on Styles, meaning Ambrose was disqualified. Ellsworth then appeared on Talking Smack feeling upset about the incident. A week later on SmackDown Live, Ellsworth would attempt to apologize to Ambrose, who would kick Ellsworth out of the building; Ellsworth would interfere in the rematch, being chased around by security, distracting Styles and allowing Ambrose to win. SmackDown Commisioner Shane McMahon also named Ellsworth the SmackDown "mascot" for the 2016 Survivor Series match on the 8 November edition of SmackDown. Later that night, Ellsworth was pinned by Bray Wyatt in a 6-man tag team match. n the November 14 episode of Raw, he joined the rest of the SmackDown Men's Survivor Series Team when they invaded Raw. During the invasion, he was added to the list of Jericho. During Survivor Series, Ellsworth hid under the ring and grabbed Braun Strowman's leg to prevent him from getting back in the ring, resulting in Strowman getting eliminated by countout. Strowman would proceed to chase Ellsworth up the ramp and put him through a table, injuring his neck. After legitimately signing a WWE contract, this was worked into a storyline on the 22 November edition of SmackDown, when AJ Styles goaded the injured Ellsworth to face him in a ladder match for the right to be a SmackDown star with his contract suspended above the ring; Ellsworth agreed, but wanted another shot at the WWE World Championship should he win. Dean Ambrose was given the night off by Shane McMahon, but he later interfered in the match and attacked Styles, but was knocked out by the Phenomenal Forearm. Ellsworth later hit No Chin Music on Styles. Where AJ Styles got stuck on the ropes, giving Ellsworth a chance to climb up the ladder and grab the contract. On the 29 November edition of SmackDown Live, Ellsworth suffered a storyline injury; Ellsworth was a guest on The Ambrose Asylum with Ambrose, but AJ Styles came out and began arguing. The segment ended with Styles attacking Ellsworth and Ambrose. After delivering a Styles Clash to Ellsworth off the steel steps, Ellsworth was seen to by medical personnel. At TLC, Ellsworth interfered in the TLC match between Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship. It looked like he was aiming to help Ambrose win the title. As Ambrose was climbing the ladder, Ellsworth pushed Dean Ambrose off the ladder and sent him crashing through two tables, turning heel. As a result, AJ Styles retained the World Championship. Immediately following TLC on Talking Smack, Ellsworth praised his own "brilliant strategy" to give Styles the title so his title match would be against Styles, who he had "beaten three times already". He added that Ambrose would have "done the same thing" and would "understand 'cause we go way back". Ellsworth then said that Ambrose would receive an immediate shot at the title after he beats Styles. Ellsworth was expected to get his title match on the 6 December edition of SmackDown Live. However, the match was called off due to Styles having an ankle injury. After mocking Styles for ducking him, Ambrose came out and hit a Dirty Deeds on Ellsworth, as Styles smiled at ringside. Ellsworth however ended up costing Ambrose the alternative main event match against The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, when Ambrose was distracted. On the December 13 episode of SmackDown, the scheduled championship match for the renamed WWE Championship was once again called off when it was Ellsworth whom this time was ruled medically unable to compete with a storyline illness. Ellsworth's championship match eventually took place on the December 20 Christmas-themed episode of SmackDown, where Styles defeated him to retain his championship after a Phenomenal Blitz. Later that night, Ellsworth was seen by medical staff, and was comforted by Carmella. On the 27 December edition of SmackDown Live, Carmella called Ellsworth "uniquely attractive." On January 3, 2017, Ellsworth started accompanying Carmella to the ring for her matches. External links Category:American wrestlers Category:Male professional wrestlers Category:People from Maryland Category:Managers Category:Current Alumni